Unpopular opinion time

@Vinylshadow  
Jay’s ponies always remind me of Tweety Bird.

@AC97  
I imagine that if Twilight lost, Chrysalis would end up splitting off and eventually betraying the other two the moment she got subservient moral support. Tirek on the other hand would stick with Cozy Glow as her official advisor and muscle, with Cozy going full ‘I’m a pretty perfect Princess of Friendship, so benevolent and kind… and if you say any different I’ll fucking kill you’.
 
I can’t help but feel that Tirek would eventually lose control of her, and one of them would die. I would love it to be Tirek, just for the sheer irony of Tirek getting backstabbed by his own errant child.

@Philweasel
 
Oh yeah, one way or another, that alliance just wouldn’t last. It was glaringly obvious in the stark contrast found in Chrysalis’ suggestion in response to Cozy Glow suggesting to try killing the Windigos (and then her hissing at Tirek after he went “hey, it’s a shitty idea to give a potential threat like those things leeway in that way, let them grow strong from disharmony”), among other things that she’s too different from them for it to realistically last, if not because of their clashing egos, because their mindsets have striking contrasts, with Chrysalis being the most prone to Bond Villain Stupidity/the Villain Ball.
 
(She’s notably worse than Sombra in that regard, because she’s had that kind of thing happen ever since her debut; she had it happen in S6 when she decided Starlight was too unimportant to bother replacing, she had it happen when she decided to tell Cozy Glow not to chase Discord down, which allowed Discord to warn the heroes, she had it happen when she told Cozy Glow to wait until the heroes were broken first before killing them, to “have fun with our guests” first, acting like Tirek was a worrywart for being worried about Twilight being free, and the aforementioned Windigos. Maybe Sombra would’ve learned from his experiences in S9 if he’d appeared again, but I’d say he isn’t quite as notorious of an offender as she is. He only made about two real mistakes out of arrogance in S9: leaving the Mane Six trapped in antimagic crystals, alone, and not blasting them from behind during Discord’s speech [though it does kinda tie into his MO of breaking their spirits, which does weaken them, the way magic works, though sadism is also a deciding factor], and he was playing pretty damn well for kind of being the underdog in the S3 premiere, with how uphill the path to victory was)
 
Chrysalis kinda did spell it out in the first half of the two-parter, that it wouldn’t, didn’t she?
 

 
Tirek and Cozy Glow, they’d have noticeably higher chances of sticking together, or at least keep in regular contact with one another (because hey, decent chess players don’t grow on trees …) and it would be unsurprising if it went some way like you said, with the outcome of “mentor kills protégé,” or “protégé kills mentor” (such is the way of the Sith), though if Chrysalis managed to run off with the bell in her possession as to have a leg up on them, in case, it could be an incentive for them to not actually get around to killing each other.
 
(That reminds me, probably, it would be either Cozy Glow or Chrysalis in possession of the bell. Tirek can get by just fine without it, and both of them know it)

@Spinny  
Nope - which comic is that?

@AC97  
I imagine Cozy would definitely keep hold of the bell. She’s the one most associated with it, she’s smarter than Chrysalis, and Tirek would certainly have a preference in that direction.

@Philweasel
 
If Chrysalis ended up with the bell, it’d probably be the result of her pulling a fast one on the other two. Question then would be if they managed to see it coming (not too unlikely), and stop her theft accordingly, and/or if Cozy Glow didn’t somehow manage to finagle Celestia and Luna’s magic out of it first, if there was a safe workaround for Discord’s pesky esoteric chaos magic being in it.

@Philweasel
 
I picture Cozy becoming the principal of Twilight’s school again, using it to raise a generation of sycophants and to train spies and missionaries for her cause.
 
Maybe she’d even use the map, pretending the tree of harmony is sending her students on “friendship quests” when really she’s just sending them on missions to expand her political powers.

@Latecomer
 
Guardians of Harmony. Fosgitt used those armor designs without crediting the original artist and the fandom lost their shit.

@gingerninja666
 
You know, you wouldn’t even need to change things too much to write a fanfic where it’s Twilight or Celestia doing this.

 
Zecora’s not the last survivor of an extinct race. Who knew?

@Terminal Red  
Pity, but at least we’ll get to see Trixie.

@Vinylshadow  
Lol I actually liked that comic

@Dustcan  
Also, Kelpies. My knockoff isn’t alone in using them, then?

ZEBRAS RISE UP! 🦓

@OldMangyMutt  
Gangsta rap beat plays

Unpopular Opinion: Starlight is at her most amusing when she’s angry, indignant, stressed, frustrated, or bitchy.

@Spinny  
That’s when she’s amusing, for sure, but I don’t think anyone likes seeing their favorite character get frustrated like that. Then again, it’s always Trixie’s fault, which makes it even more entertaining.

@Spinny
 
Correct.

@Spinny  

 
Fully agreed. In fact I’m happy that you’ve worked out why I like her so much.
 
…I sure don’t watch pony for well adjusted people exhibiting good behavior.  
@GenericArchangel  

 
Oh ho ho, you’d be so wrong.
 
Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Starlight sit at the top of my list primarily because their suffering amuses me.

@Spinny  
Her getting pissed at Trixie in the end of A Horse Shoe In is one of my favortie moments from her.

When Starlight gets pissed The fabric of Time and space get Nam Flashbacks and ponies start hiding their cutie marks and wearing tinfoil hats.
 
When she’s not pissed she’s just Twilight on Tylenol.
 
Yeah, I can see why Bitchlight Glimmer is more entertaining than Borelight Glimmer.

@Philweasel
 

 
Indeed. In my eyes, you’re arguably more invested in a character if on some level you actually want to see them pissed off, stressed, scared, traumatized, desperate, than if you’re one who wants to have their life sorted 24/7.
 
It’s the reason I like dark stuff.
 
@rdibp
 
One of the reasons I found that moment compelling was the fact that Starlight was pissed off, on behalf of others. Such a thing is rare, able to be counted on one hand, I think. Yes, the “that’s because Twilight’s friends are competent” part was going overboard, but it was such a sick burn, you have to admit.

@Philweasel  
@AC97  
Sounds sadistic

@AC97  
Took me out a bit because I know better.

@Marx  

 
I’m not going to apologise for enjoying the suffering of small cartoon horses. I mean, isn’t that like 80% of the show?
 
Talking seriously, there’s a certain amount of catharsis and relatability to these girls sucking at life and getting frustrated and bitchy over the fact that the world seems determined to thwart them. I’ve very rarely experienced being a pretty perfect princess, but I certainly know what it’s like to have to tell a friend that they’re an unemployable mess who needs to sort their life out. Makes one scenario a lot more emotionally impactful than the other.